Week 21 -- October 14, 2010

Here is this week's box:

In this week's box: apples, big beef tomatoes, butter lettuce, candy onions, chives, corn, early girl tomatoes, hungarian hotwax peppers, spinach, summer squash, and sweet peppers. So many possibilities. I can't wait to get into the kitchen!

Salsa Fresca

I had some tomatoes left over from my last CSA box and a serrano pepper.

I was at the San Mateo Farmer's Market this morning and bought cilantro, lime, and red onion. So, this dish is made of all fresh, local ingredients! Good work, CSA girl!

The important thing about salsa is to keep tasting it and tweeking it until it tastes the way you like it. I like a lot of lime, salt, and cilantro in my salsa.

The only way to really taste the salsa is to dip a chip in it and then adjust the ingredients until they taste right.

You can serve this tacos or you can just eat it from the bowl with chips. Quick, easy, and totally local.

CSA girl confession: Ok, I haven't revealed this in my prior posts; but, I do use my children's place mats as a cutting boards. They are great for this purpose. They are easy to clean, flexible, good for cutting veggies, and fun to look at.

Salsa Fresca

from smittenkitchen.com

2 cups of chopped tomatoes

1/2 large red onion, peeled and minced

1/4 teaspoon minced raw garlic

1 serrano pepper, stemmed, seeded and minced

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Combine all the ingredients; but, only add 1/2 the serrano pepper. Taste (preferably using a tortilla chip) and adjust seasoning to your taste.

2. Let sit for 15 minutes or so before serving to allow the flavors to blend.

Week 20 -- October 7, 2010

Here is this week's box:

In this week's box: broccoli romanesco, collard greens, corn, early girl tomatoes, golden delicious apples, parsley, radishes, salad mix, string beans, summer squash, and sweet peppers. You would think that I would be tired of tomatoes by now; however, I don't think I will ever get tired of these early girl tomatoes. They are amazing! Hmmm, what will I make this week? Check back later and see.

Tacos with Gypsy Peppers, Corn, and Summer Squash

I had some gypsy peppers, corn, and summer squash in my refrigerator along with some Bulgarian feta cheese. And, I thought these ingredients would make a good taco.

I am also currently obsessed with making tortillas at home. I really enjoy making them and they elevate this recipe from just another thrown together meal to something delicious.

My secret to making tortillas at home is not much of a secret. I just follow the instructions on the back of the MASECA bag.

I tried many times to make tortillas, consulting many sources, and just failed miserably. Then, one day I was at the supermarket wondering if I had it in me to try to make tortillas again and that's when I saw the back of the package. I followed these simple instructions and now I can have homemade tortillas any time I want by just adding water and salt to the dry masa and following the instructions.

Of course, you don't have to make the tortillas at home to enjoy these tacos. I topped the sauteed peppers, squash, and corn with some chopped avocado, cilantro, and a squeeze of lemon juice. Yum! Dinner in less than 20 minutes. Just make sure you make a lot of these because everyone will want seconds, thirds, etc.

Tacos with Gypsy Peppers, Corn, and Summer Squash

Ingredients

6-8 homemade or store-bought corn tortillas

2 gypsy peppers, seeded and cut into strips

1 ear of corn, kernels removed

2 small summer squashes, chopped

1 tablespoon butter

1/4 cup of cilantro, chopped

2 avocados, chopped

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

kosher salt

1. Melt butter in a non stick pan over medium high heat. Add peppers, corn and squash. Cook for 5-10 minutes until softened. Sprinkle with lemon juice and season with salt to taste.

2. Meanwhile make tortillas according to MASECA bag or heat store bought tortillas.

3. Top tortillas with sauteed veggies, avocado and cilantro.

Tomato Fest Continues

So, as you may know, I just received a 20 pound box of Early Girl Tomatoes from Blue House Farm. I thought I would share with you some of the many things I have done with the tomatoes in the last 24 hours. First, I canned many of them (see prior post). I made a simple salad with tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil with a little extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper.

I also made a bit of bruschetta. I brushed extra virgin olive oil on slices of baguette. Heated the bread. And, topped it with a mixture of tomatoes, garlic, fresh basil, extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar and salt & pepper.

Finally, I made grilled cheese with tomato.

I hope this gives you some ideas of what to do with the beautiful tomatoes that are available right now.

Canning Early Girl Tomatoes

The Tomato Fest here at CSA Girl is in full swing. My first project with these lovely Early Girl tomatoes was to can them.

First, I peeled the tomatoes. In order to peel them, I briefly boiled them in a pot. When I saw the skin on the tomato cracking I put them in a bowl of ice water.

Then, I slipped the skin off with my fingers. I would recommend taking the stems off first; because, when I tried to take off the stems after they were cooked sometimes the whole tomato came out of the skin stuck to the stem.

I boiled the jars, lids and tongs. I also ran my jars and lids through the dishwasher to sanitize them.

I filled each jar with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and a teaspoon of salt.

Then I filled the jars with tomatoes.

Finally, I added a label. I am craft-challenged so my label looks like a preschooler's mother's day project. But, if you are crafty you could really make your jar look good.

Then, the jars were ready to store or give away. Again, if you are crafty you could make this look really nice, put it in a basket with some pasta, a nice bottle of olive oil, fancy vinegar, a baguette and give it to someone as a gift.

Canned Tomatoes

Taken from Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving by Judi Kingry and Lauren Devine

Note: Before doing any canning you should do some research on food safety regarding canning. It is important that all jars and canning supplies are clean and that the food you canned is properly processed. Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving is a good source for this information. I also like the book Homemade Living: Canning & Preserving with Ashley English.

Ingredients & Equipment

Tomatoes

Bottled lemon juice or citric acid

Salt

Canning Pint-sized Jars

Tongs

Big pot to heat and process jars

1. Prepare jars and lids by running through dishwasher or boiling. Set up a huge pot of hot water to keep the jars and lids hot. Put ice water in a large bowl to immerse tomatoes after they have been boiled.

2. Working in small batches, immerse tomatoes in a second pot of boiling water for 60 seconds or until the skins start to loosen and crack. Immediately plunge into a bowl of cold water and slip skins off.

3. Before packing each jar of tomatoes add 1 tablespoon of bottled lemon juice and 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the hot jar.

4. Pack tomatoes into prepared jars within a generous 1/2 inch of the top of the jar. Press the tomatoes into the jar until the space between them fills with juice, leaving 1/2 inch space at top of jar. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace (area at top of jar), if necessary, by adding more tomatoes. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Screw band down until resistance is met, then screw lid on tight.

5. Place jars in canner, or large pot of boiling water, ensuring they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil and leave jar in canner or pot of boiling water for 85 minutes. Remove jars, cool and store.

Week 19 -- September 30, 2010

Here is this week's box:

In this week's box: artichokes, corn, early girl tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, green leaf lettuce, golden beets, golden delicious apples, cippolini onions, lacinato kale, poblano peppers, summer squash.

Blue House Farm had some extra tomatoes; and, I ordered an extra 20 pound box of Early Girl tomatoes. So, you can expect a total tomato fest this week. I'm planning on canning some of these Girls and making a huge batch of tomato sauce. Check in later this week to see what I've done.